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The week in hardware: It’s all about the chips

This past week was dominated by news from Intel and AMD. Intel released …

The past week saw a number of launches and updates from both Intel and AMD. We covered the debut of the Atom N280 (with accompanying chipset), Intel's upcoming Nehalem-based octal-core Xeon, AMD's new series of Phenom II X3 and X4 processors, and other various developments in the industry. It's all about the chips, baby—if you missed some news, drop in and have a look.

Intel debuts new Atom N280, GN40 chipset: Processor launches tend to take higher billing over chipsets but the GN40 is a much more significant update than the N280 this time out. Atom's new chipset could give Ion a run for its money if Intel positions it to do so.

Intel details eight-core Xeon: Intel has plans to launch an eight-core Nehalem-based Xeon in the not-too-distant future and the company intends to "recycle" parts that don't have a full eight functional cores into six-core or four-core processors. Shades of Toliman, AMD's original Phenom X3? Indeed.

Intel's 2009 roadmap: full speed ahead to 32nm: Intel had a busy week as you've probably noticed by now—in addition to the product launches and details we've discussed, the company also updated its roadmap across multiple product segments. 32nm products will launch this year but Santa Clara has deprioritized certain 45nm parts to make room in their schedule.

AMD launches new X3, X4 Phenom II processors: AMD had a few launches of its own this week; the company introduced a total of five new processors based on its much-improved Phenom II 45nm technology. The occasion marks the first time in years that AMD has offered a truly competitive and attractive Intel alternative at a number of price points.

Amid tanking revenues, NVIDIA looks to Intel for help: NVIDIA's attempts to build tremendous buzz around Ion this past month (and CUDA in the months prior) haven't just been a casual interest of the company. Year-on-year corporate revenues plunged by 60 percent—like a lot of other OEMs and system builders, NVIDIA is hoping it can cling to Atom as a life preserver.

NVIDIA Ion certified for vista Home Premium: Ion, NVIDIA's platform combining an integrated GeForce 9400M and an Intel Atom N280, has been certified by Microsoft for Windows Vista Home Premium. The increased graphics muscle of the 9400M should keep a Vista system running smoothly, but with Windows 7 sucking up so much of the media's attention, will anyone notice Vista?

Sandisk to commercialize X3 and X4 MLC Flash this year: Sandisk is betting on higher-density MLC flash this year as a way to improve flash density and price-per-gigabyte simultaneously. In order to do so, the company will have to bring MLC failure rates under control—as the density of a cell increases the chance of failure also increases.

Intel delays Calpella, gives OEMs time to clear inventory: OEMs have pleaded with Intel to hold back the launch of its new Centrino platform (dubbed Calpella) and the company has agreed. These are the sorts of ways an economic slowdown hits the introduction of new technology—Intel can't risk glutting the market with unsold product that the OEMs are then forced to carry on their balance sheets as excess inventory.

Your printer is killing you: Ok, no, not really—I just couldn't resist the comparison to this Dilbert cartoon. In all seriousness, however, printers have emerged as a major cause of indoor air pollution in offices, despite the printer industry's attempts to downplay the evidence.